Brand Color Psychology in a Nutshell
How do you want people to feel when they experience your brand?
Color has the power to make us feel a certain way. It’s sensory, symbolic, has ritual and cultural meaning. In marketing, color can influence consumer reactions and behaviors, as well as contribute to brand recognition.
Pink has a historically feminine connotation, and thanks to Barbie, it may even have a feminist appeal. It’s generally used to elicit youthfulness, playfulness and innocence.
But what about pink’s parent color, RED?
Red is energy, strength, power, determination, passion, desire and love; also anger, aggression, danger, revolution and war. Red stimulates appetite and impulse buying. In China, it represents good luck, celebration, prosperity and happiness. For Native Americans, it signifies success and triumph.
Orange is enthusiasm, energy, happiness, creativity, sociability, attraction, success and stimulation; associated with food and toys, Halloween and affordability. In non-western cultures, it represents spirituality and religion. In Feng Shui, it’s the ‘social’ color. In Japan, it symbolizes love.
Yellow represents joy, happiness, friendliness, intellect and energy; it’s thought to draw jealousy, cowardice, deceit and caution. It’s commonly associated with food, children’s toys and leisure items. Native Americans associate it with the East where the sun rises. In Egypt and Latin America, yellow represents mourning.
Green is the color of fertility, money, growth, healing and nature; yet also envy and greed. It’s the most restful color on the eyes, used in brands that are environmentally friendly, symbolizes ‘go’ and success. The Irish and Islam believe green is a sacred color and a color of paradise. While China associates it with an unfaithful wife.
Blue is the color of depth, knowledge, peace, loyalty, stability, trust and wisdom; associated with masculinity, depression and coldness. It makes people feel safe, common for websites and travel industry. Native Americans associate it with defeat and trouble. In China, it represents immortality. And in Iran, blue is the symbol of heaven, spirituality and mourning.
Purple is the color of royalty, spirituality, fantasy, creativity, compassion, bravery and luxury; also can be associated with exaggeration and excess, commonly used to promote luxury goods, while lighter shades may lean toward feminine or children’s products. It is the color of royalty in England, of virtue and faith in Egypt, of mourning in Thailand. In Feng Shui, purple represents spiritual awareness, physical and mental healing.
Black represents authority, elegance, mystery, sophistication and stylishness; also associated with evil, fear, negativity, remorse and secrecy. It’s commonly used against white for contrast, to outline or frame other colors and elements. In Japan – mystery, feminine energy. South America – masculinity. Egypt – rebirth. In many cultures, black signifies death, magic, superstition, bad luck or the unknown.
Gray and silver represent balance, neutrality, intelligence, knowledge, maturity and professionalism; also dullness, mood, fog, indecision and uncertainty. In Asia, grey signifies help and travel. In North America – industry.
White is innocence, perfection, virtue, purity and cleanliness; also fragility and isolation. It’s associated with modernism, space, simplicity, clean lines and form. China – mourning, death, funerals. Worldwide – peace.
Of course, every color in the spectrum has different attributes.
Hue, saturation and value, for example. And when those attributes are changed, we get an infinite array of beautiful colors that can stir emotion, call back a memory or inspire us to some action.
When you select a color palette for your brand, you have a lot of choices. Did I mention gradients and metallics? Color is another place you risk getting overwhelmed if you let yourself go deep.
To keep it simple, a brand color palette typically contains:
1-2 colors in a primary palette
1-2 colors in an accent palette
1-2 colors in a neutral palette
Each of these colors can also be available in various shades, tints or saturation, if necessary.
A best practice for your neutral palette is to drop the lightness or shade of any color to find colors that are ALMOST black.
Then raise the saturation or tint to find colors that are ALMOST white. These ALMOST colors tend to be more pleasing and synergistic with your other brand colors than pure white or black.
When you choose your brand colors, ask yourself some questions.
Do they feel aligned with my brand message?
Are they unique in the brand landscape?
Do I FEEL something when I look at them?
Is there enough variation between the colors to produce adequate value contrast?
Will some of them work in my logo? on a website?
Will they appeal to my ideal audience?
Are the bright colors too agitating?
Are muted colors too dull?
When you’re ready to start putting a brand color palette together, try making at least three palettes. Test them with customers, colleagues and friends. Don’t just ask what they like, but ask which combo seems like a great match for your brand and why.